National Information

When cars are smashed in this crusher, toxic
fluids leak out onto the crusher bed,
and onto nearby soil, in violation of
the Clean Water Act.

Pick Your Part Auto Wrecking Co. will remove and
recycle mercury in 60,000 switches from salvaged
vehicles at its nine California yards in the first
such project in the state. This project is showing
the way for other salvage yards to comply with
a California law requiring all auto dismantlers
to remove mercury switches from scrapped vehicles
starting in January 2005.

Within the United States, an estimated 10 tons
of highly toxic mercury are released to the environment
each year from mercury-containing light switches
during the shredding and crushing of old vehicles.
Pick Your Part’s environmental project, valued
at $235,000 will prevent mercury from 60,000 switches
from polluting the environment.

The project was part of the settlement reached
after EPA fined Pick Your Part Auto Wrecking $165,000
for failing to carry out adequate stormwater management
practices and pollution prevention plans, in violation
of the Clean Water Act, at five auto wrecking and
recycling yards in California.

The
California Auto Dismantlers Association (SCADA) has
created the “Partners in the Solution” program
to ensure that member businesses adhere to strong
environmental, safety, business and licensing standards.
This innovative program raises the bar for the auto
recycling industry, while providing the education
and support needed to bring facilities into compliance
with these standards. Nearly 200 auto recycling facilities
currently participate in the program.

EPA supports industry efforts, like SCADA’s,
which assist their members in complying with the
complete range of environmental, safety and business
regulations. By law, auto dismantling facilities
must drain, manage, and dispose of toxic vehicle
fluids in an environmentally safe manner; dismantle
and clean the vehicles as specified in their permits;
cover engines and other auto parts; and develop
and carry out storm water pollution prevention
plans.

Recycling cars and trucks

Cars and trucks are the number one recycled product
in America. About 8 million cars and 5 million
trucks are recycled every year. There are well
over 7,000 auto recycling operations nationwide.

In California, with more cars registered than
any other state, up to 2.5 million vehicles are
brought to salvage yards each year; about 700,000
of these are shredded for their metals. State and
local agencies are working with the industry to
improve environmental compliance and prevent pollution
at salvage yards throughout the state.

These mostly-small businesses often have environmental
compliance problems that fall within EPA’s
authority under clean air, stormwater and hazardous
waste regulations. The products and practices used
by auto salvage businesses have the potential to
pollute the land, ground water and the air. One
of the primary threats is polluted stormwater runoff
resulting from the mishandling of vehicular fluids
(see list, below).

Shiny soil
surface at this salvage yard after a rainstorm
indicates spilled fluids, a source of polluted
runoff.

Potential damage from the following fluids:

gasoline diesel fuel
oil

transmission fluid,
power steering fluid, brake fluid

mineral spirits, washer
fluid, gear oil

battery acid, solvents

Other hazardous and solid wastes that could contaminate
and/or pollute the air: